Garment



A. L. FLESH GARMENT Filed Aug. 22, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 d6 INN Q1 ATTORNEY A. L. FLESH Oct. 27, 1936.

GARMENT Filed Aug. 22, 1935 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 ATTORN EY atented Get. 27, 1936 sArEs ATEN'T GARMENT corporation of Ohio Application August 22,1935, Serial No. 37,335

7 Claims.

This invention relates to nether garments for men, and is concerned more particularly. with a novel garment of the kind referred to, which is provided with a' supporter built into the garment to form an integral part thereof. The new garment may take various forms, such as trunks, athletic shorts, etc., but for purposes of illustration will be described in the form of bathing trunks, although it will be apparent that its utility is not limited to that particular use.

Bathing trunks and other similar garments have heretofore been constructed with built-in supporters, but in most such prior garments, the supporter element is so attached in place, as for example, by being stitched to the waistband at the middle of the waistline in front and back, that if the supporter serves any useful purpose, a considerable strain is imposed on the garment which causes the waistlineto sag. Also, insuch prior garments, the supporter element, which is made of elastic webbing, is not adjustable, and as a result, the element frequently does not provide the desired support even when the garment is new, because it does not fit properly, and when the webbing has become slack after a period of use, the supporter provides practically no support at all.

The present invention is accordingly directed to the provision of a mans nether garment, such as bathing trunks or shorts, which is'provided with a supporter which may be adjusted so that it will give the proper support without discomfort at all times, and in the new garment, the supporter element is so constructed that it does not impose strains on the garment which de-- stroy its lit by causing'it to sag at the waistline.

The new garment includes trunks made in any desired manner but preferably consisting of a pair of sections secured together by outseams and inseams, and a crotch insert or gusset of the usual diamond or elliptical form inserted between the sections at the crotch and secured in place by the usual stitching. The supporter which is preferably made of elastic material is disposed within the trunks with the rear end of the supporter secured to the trunks at or near the rear of the crotch. The front of the supporter is provided withtapes or bands which are fastened to the upper end of the supporter in such manner as to incline away from each other so that these tapes extend to the sides of the garment and may be drawn taut and secured in position, the tapes thus drawing upwa d on the supporter but not imposing strains on the waistband ex cent at the sides of the garment where it lies above the hips. At the s ides of the garment means are provided by which the tapes may be secured in position, and when the tapes are drawn taut, they cause the supporter element to fit snugly and afford the desired support. If desired, the free ends of the tapes may be employed as part of the belt or draw-string with which such garments are commonly provided, and when so used, the tapes perform a. dual function.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in' which:

Fig. 1 is a view in perspective, with parts broken away, of one form of garment which embodies the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view through the crotch of the garment of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view of the garment on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a view in perspective, with parts broken away, of another form of garment which embodies the invention;

Fig. 6 is a view on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a view in perspective, with parts broken away, of a third form of garment which embodies the invention; and

Fig. 8 is a view on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7.

Referring to the drawings, the garment illustrated in Figs. 1-4, comprises front and rear sections 10, I II of any suitable-material, connected together by outseams i2 and inseams l3, a gusset l4 being secured between the front and rear sections at the crotch. Mounted within the garment is a supporter element l5 which may be roughly triangular in shape and is preferably formed of a suitable elastic material, .such as ordinary elastic webbing or one made of rubber core yarn. This element extends from the crotch upward along the inside of the front of the garment, and its rear end is permanently secured in "position. For this purpose, the rear end of the element may be cut to a shape corresponding to the rear end of gusset M and be secured in place by the stitching connecting the gusset and rear section ll, so that additional stitching in the crotch is avoided.

In the construction illustrated in Fig. 1, the garment is provided with a tubular waistband IT, and disposed within this waistband is a tape l8 which extends'throughout the rear portion of the waistband and is provided with rings I9 at its ends, these rings lying within the waistband substantially at the sides of the garment. Adjacent the rings, button-hole openings are formed through the inner wall of the waistband and each of the tapes l6 enters the waistband, and passes through one of the rings and then .through the waistband to the middle of the front of the garment where there is another button-hole opening 2i on the inner wall of the waistband. Through this opening, the ends of the tapes may be drawn so that they may be tied together and thus serve as a draw string. When the tapes are drawn taut and their ends tied together, they raise the supporter element l5 and likewise draw in on the waistband so that the supporter element fits snugly, giving the desired support without causing discomfort, and the garment is drawn in snugly about the body. The free ends of the tapes lie within the front of the garment so that the supporter element and the connections by which its position is adjusted are wholly concealed.

In the garment shown in Fig. 5, the supporter element and tapes have the same construction as in the garment illustrated in Fig. 1, but in this form of the garment, those portions of the tapes which extend along the waistline and the tape 22 ,which extends along the rear of the waistline are exposed. Thus, the tape 22 is secured in place at the middle of the waistline in the back and extends along the waistline to the sides of the garment on the outside of the waistband. At its forward ends, the tape '22 is provided with rings 23 and immediately forward of these rings, button-holes 24 are formed through the waistband. The tapes 25 extend upwardly and laterally to the waistline, pass through the buttonholes 24 and rings 23, and are then lead forwardly to the front of the garment where their ends may be connected together in any desired manner. In the construction illustrated, one tape 25 is provided with a pair of rings 26 and the end 21 of the other tape is threaded through the rings so as to be held by the rings against slipping. In order to give the tapes 22 and 25, the appearance of a belt, these tapes may be made of the same material as the rest of the garment and belt loops 28 may be provided through which the tapes pass.

In the garment illustrated in Fig. 7, the supporter element is attached at its rear end to the crotch as in the other garments described, and at its forward end is provided with tapes 29. These tapes extend up to the waistlineat the sides of the garment and pass through buttonholes 30. Forward 0! each button-hole is a small fabric strap 3| stitched at one end to the waistband and provided at its free end with a pair tion of the supporter element may be adjusted to that desired, and the tapes may then be secured in position by means of the rings 32. Since these rings lie some distance forward of the buttonholes 30 through which the tapes are lead to the outside of the waistband, the adjustment of the tapes causes the garment to be gathered together over the hips so that the waistband fits the body snugly. With this construction, the draw-string 34 may be used or not, as may be desired.

In all forms of the garment, it will be apparent that the supporter is adjustable so that it may provide the desired support without causing discomfort, and even though the elastic of the supporter element becomes slack in the course of the upper end of the supporter are distributed to the garment at the sides of the latter where the waistband fits snugly over the hips and is best supported.

I claim:

1. A garment which comprises front and rear sections connected together to provide leg openings, said sections terminating at their upper ends in a waistband, and a supporter lying inside said connected sections and including a supporter element attached at one end to said garment at the crotch and extending upwardly therefrom inside the front section toward the waistband, and straps attached to the other end of said element and extending divergently therefrom to the waistband at the sides of the garment over the hips, said straps being supported by, and having a sliding connection with, the garment at said sides and extending forwardly along the waistband for drawing said element upwardly.

2. A garment which comprises front and rear sections connected together to provide leg openings, said sections terminating at their upper ends in a waistband, and a supporter lying inside said connected sections and including a supporter element attached at one end to said garment at the crotch and extending upwardly therefrom along the inside of said front section, straps attached to the other end of said element and extending divergently therefrom to the waistband at the sides of the garment, said straps being supported by the garment at said sides, and extending forwardly along the waistband for drawing said element upwardly, and means for securing said straps in adjusted position.

3. A garment which comprises front and rear sections connected together to provide leg openings, said sections terminating at their upper ends in a waistband, and a supporter lying inside said connected sections and including a supporter element attached at one end to said garment at the crotch and extending upwardly therefrom inside the front section toward the waistband, straps attached to the other end of said element and extending divergently therefrom to the waistband at the sides of the garment, thence through at least a part of the waistband at said sides and forwardly along the latter, and means for securing said straps in place to maintain said element in adjusted position.

4. A garment which comprises front and rear sections connected together to provide leg openings, said sections terminating at their upper ends in a waistband, and a supporter lying inside said connected sections and including a supporter element attached at one end to said garment at the crotch and extending upwardly therefrom inside the front section toward the waistband, straps attached to the other end of said element and extending divergently therefromto the waistband at. the sides of the garment, thence through at least a part of the waistband and forwardly along the ings, said sections terminating at their upper ends in a waistband, and a supporter lyihg inside said connected sections and including a supporter elemerit attached at one end to said garment at the crotch and extending upwardly therefrom inside the front section toward the waistband, straps for drawing said element upwardly, said straps being attached to the other end of said element and extending divergently therefrom to the waistband adjacent the sides of the garment, said straps passing through openings in the waistband and thence forwardly along the outside of the waistband, and means on the outside of said waistband forward of said openings for securing said straps in adjusted position.

6. A garment which comprises front and rear sections connected together to provide leg openings, said sections terminating at their upper ends in a waistband, and a supporter lying inside said connected sections and including a supporter element attached at one end to said garment at the crotch and extending upwardly therefrom inside the front section toward the waistband, straps for drawing said element upwardly, said straps being attached to the otherend of said element and extending divergently therefrom to the waistband adjacent the sides of the garment, said straps passing through openings in the waistband and thence forwardly along the outside of the waistband, means for securing the free ends of said straps to hold said straps taut with said element in adjusted position, and a strap extending along the outside of the waistline and slidably connected at its ends to said straps adjacent the sides of the garment.

'7. A garment which comprises front and rear sections connected together to provide leg openings, said sections terminating at their upper ends in a waistband, and a supporter lying inside said connected sections and including a supporter element attached at one end to said garment at the crotch and extending upwardly therefrom inside the front section toward the waistband, straps for drawing said element upwardly, said straps being attached to the other end of said'element and extending divergently therefrom to the waistband at the sides of the garment and thence into the waistband and through it to the front of the garment and out into the interior of the garment through an opening in the waistband, the free ends of said straps being adapted to be secured together to hold said element in adjusted position, and a strap extending along the waistband at the rear of the garment and slidably connected to said straps at the sides of the garment.

ALFRED L. FLESH. 

